The streets in Los Angeles will overtaken by bicyclists in the second CicLAvia event scheduled for this Sunday, among them will be a group of undocumented students and their supporters.

Pictured here a group of Dream Act students and supporters rode from East Los Angeles to Orange County in Feb. to create consciousness about the plight of undocumented students. Foto courtesy of Isaac Barrera

The California Dream Act supporters will gather in Boyle Heights at 9 a.m. and head out at 10 a.m. They plan to attach artwork to their bikes, chant, share their stories and make themselves and their dreams visible, “’cause you know, we’re undocumented and unafraid,” Erick Huerta, a Boyle Heights resident wrote on the event announcement on facebook.com.

The inaugural CicLAvia event took place in October. It was modeled after “cyclovias” [cycle paths in Spanish] embraced in other cities and countries.

Participants can ride bicycles, roller skates or go on foot. For more information on the 7.5 car-free route, visit http://www.ciclavia.org/content/action-center

Roosevelt High School Mariachi Olimpico’s Annual “Este Es Mi Mexico Concert” will be held on April 15 at 7pm in the school auditorium. The concert will also include performances by Mariachi Olimpico Alumni, Roosevelt High’s String Orchestra, Belevedere Middle School Mariachi Group, and special guests, recording artists Mariachi Los Toros and Monica Ceballos. Tickets (at box office) are $12 Front/Orchestra; $8 Middle/Rear and $6 for students with ID. The school is located at 456 S. Matthews St., LA 90033. For more information, call (323) 780-6500, ext 320.

5pm—Monterey Park Chamber of Commerce’s Fundraiser for Japanese Quake & Tsunami Victims at the El Encanto Building, 700 El Mercado in Monterey Park. Representatives of the Japanese Consulate in Los Angeles and the American Red Cross will attend. Attendees can make a donation to the chamber’s fund for the victims. For more information, call (626) 579-9429.

7-7:30pm—Come in your pajamas to City Terrace Library’s Bedtime Stories in English and Spanish. The library is located at 4025 E. City Terrace Dr. LA, CA 90063. For more information, call (323) 261-0295

1-2pm—East Los Angeles Library Aztec Interactive History and Culture Event suitable for all ages with special guest musician Michael Heralda. The library is located at 4837 E. 3rd St. LA 90022. For more information, call (323) 264-0155.

1-2pm—Family Story time at the Bell Library for ages 5 and up; includes art activities The library is located at 4411 E. Gage Ave. Bell, 90201. For more information, contact Bertha Amezcua at (323) 560-2149.

2-5pm—Opening Reception for the Arroyo Arts Collective’s “For the Birds,” a free month-long installation project at the Audubon Center at Debs Park. The art installation features works by 19 artists inspired by local birds, bird habitat and migration, urban ecology and the works of James John Audubon. The Audubon Center is located at 4700 North Griffin Ave, LA 90031. More information at ArroyoArtsCollective.org or by voice mail at (323) 850-8566.

10am-3pm— CicLAvia Returns! Cyclists, walkers, runners and skaters can enjoy 7.5-miles of car-free streets along the route that encompasses Boyle Heights, Little Tokyo, Downtown, MacArthur Park, Koreatown and East Hollywood. There’s no official “start” or “finish,” so participants may enter and depart anywhere along the way. Businesses and restaurants along the CicLAvia route will remain open. For more information, route map and updates, visit: facebook.com/ciclavia

Noon-3pm—Don Bosco Technical Institute’s Spring Open House. Prospective students, their families and others in the community can explore the campus, visit the five technology labs, tour classrooms and enjoy music, a classic car show and international cuisine at the all-male Catholic high school that combines college-preparatory and technological education. Don Bosco is located at 1151 San Gabriel Blvd, Rosemead, 91770. For more information, call or e-mail Karen Krynen at (626) 392-9967 or kkrynen@boscotech.edu

2 & 4pm—Mexican ensemble La Catrina performs two shows at the 103-year-old Hollenbeck Chapel in Boyle Heights. Joined by the superlative artists of the Cavatina Duo (flute & guitar), their program will feature the supreme elegance of Mozart, the Spanish-flavored exuberance of Boccherini and Piazzolla’s jaunty “Revirado & Introducción al Angel.” Tickets are $49. The chapel is located at 73 S. Boyle Ave. (at E. Sixth Street) LA 90033. For more information or to buy tickets, visit www.DaCamera.org or call (213) 477-2929.

Monday April 11
10-11am—Free Intro to E-mail Workshop at the East Los Angeles Library. Learn how to set-up a free e-mail account, send and receive e-mail and more! The library is located at 4837 E. 3rd St. LA. For more information, call the library (323) 264-0155.

Tuesday April 12
6:30-7:45pm—See “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” at the Montebello Library presented for free by Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary High School’s Drama Department. The library is located at 1550 W. Beverly Blvd. Montebello, 90640. For more information e call (323) 722-6551.

Wednesday April 13
10-11am—City Terrace Library Workshop for Parents to answer questions on nutrition, disaster preparedness and reading books read for children. The library is located at 4025 E. City Terrace Dr. LA 90063. For more information, call (323) 261-0295.

4:30pm—LA Opera present “Opera Tales” at the City Terrace Library. The performance will feature five professional opera singers and a pianist performing music from Wagner’s Das Rheingold, Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio and Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. Event is free for the whole family. The library is located at 4025 E. City Terrace Dr. LA. For more information, call (323) 261-0295.

5-6pm—David Cousin’s Comedy Juggling Show at the East Los Angeles Library. Fun for all ages. Free admission. The library is located at 4837 E. 3rd St. LA 90022. For more information call (323) 264-0155.

Upcoming Events
Roosevelt High School Mariachi Olimpico’s Annual “Este Es Mi Mexico Concert” will be held on April 15 at 7pm in the school auditorium. The concert will also include performances by Mariachi Olimpico Alumni, Roosevelt High’s String Orchestra, Belevedere Middle School Mariachi Group, and special guests, recording artists Mariachi Los Toros and Monica Ceballos. Tickets (at box office) are $12 Front/Orchestra; $8 Middle/Rear and $6 for students with ID. The school is located at 456 S. Matthews St., LA 90033. For more information, call (323) 780-6500, ext 320.

The Grand Opening of La Plaza de Culturas y Artes in downtown Los Angeles will be held on April 16, and will include a day-long free family celebration sponsored by Target. From 10am to 4pm, visitors will enjoy live music and arts workshops in El Jardín, LA Plaza’s 30,000-square foot garden, as well as timed tours of major exhibition LA Starts Here! Tickets are free, but must be reserved in advance online at http://lapca.org or by calling (213) 542-6254.

The Youth Opportunity Movement Boyle Heights Community Job and Resource Fair will take place on Wednesday, April 20 from 10am to 2pm at the Boyle Heights Technology Youth Center: 1600 E. 4th St, LA 90033. Bring resumes and be ready to interview. Learn how to improve your job getting skills. For more information, contact Mary D Miller at (323) 526-3720 or e-mail maryd.miller@lacity.org.

To submit an event or announcement to the Community Calendar, e-mail calendar@egpnews.com. All submissions are subject to space availability. Paid advertising available for guaranteed calendar placement. For more information, contact advertise@egpnews.com.

A group backing an effort to incorporate East Los Angeles netted nearly $20,000 last month at a casino night themed fundraiser attended by about 100 people.

The fundraiser was the latest effort from the East Los Angeles Residents Association (ELARA) to raise revenue to support its campaign for East Los Angeles cityhood.

The cityhood campaign is currently in the Comprehensive Fiscal Analysis (CFA) phase to determine the current costs for services in the area and whether unincorporated East LA can sustain at least the same level of services with revenues and taxes generated there. The results of the independent analysis are expected to be made public later this spring or in early summer.

“The funds will be used to educate the community on the importance of the CFA and its findings once we have the CFA in hand. We want to ensure that we reach as many residents as possible through an educational campaign as soon as we have this historic document,” ELARA president Benjamin Cardenas told EGP in a written statement.

If the fiscal analysis satisfies the requirements of the County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO)—the government body that oversees the incorporation of cities—and after East Los Angeles residents have had time to review the report, cityhood could be put on the ballot, allowing voters to decide if they want to become a city.

Opponents of the cityhood effort have cited concerns of possible reductions in services and tax increases as some reasons why they do not want to see East LA become an independent city.

The fiscal analysis is expected to address those concerns.

A number of elected officials have already endorsed incorporation, including Assemblyman Ricardo Lara (50th District) who attended the casino fundraiser.

Lara lived part of his childhood in unincorporated East LA. He says Supervisor Gloria Molina has done a great job of serving as the community’s voice, but the community is now seeking to determine “its own identity and future.”

“I support giving the voters the opportunity to make that decision for themselves,” Lara said in a written statement. “The residents have proven to be great advocates and have vowed to continue to be involved in moving their community forward. It’s important for us to continue this dialogue and not let it get stagnant, but rather encourage the community to look for ways to ensure that their local tax revenues are invested back in their local community.”

Trade with Japan through the Port of Los Angeles and LAX will begin taking a major hit this month, as will tourism from Japan and foreign investments, officials with the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation told a pair of City Council committees Monday.

“The city itself has a very large amount at stake in this trade,”

LAEDC chief economist Nancy Sidhu told a special joint meeting of the Trade, Commerce and Tourism and the Jobs and Business Development committees at the port.

According to the City Administrative Office, the city’s hotel and sales tax revenue projections in the mayor’s 2011-12 proposed budget, scheduled to be released later this month, may have to be reduced as a result.

Kathryn McDermott, the port’s deputy executive director for business development, told the committees the largest declines would not be felt until mid- to late-April, because American businesses are just now making adjustments to inventory that will affect imports from earthquake- and tsunami-ravaged Japan.

About $35.3 billion in trade between Japan and the United States passed through the Port of Los Angeles in 2010, according to port officials. Japan is the port’s number-two trading partner, second to China, and accounts for 15 percent of the port’s total of $236 billion in annual trade. McDermott said trade with Japan accounts for about 800 jobs at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Sidhu said the declines in imports from Japan would likely include automotive parts, computers, medical equipment and other hi-tech components.

Sidhu and others who testified before the council committees predicted an unknown decline in the number of tourists who visit Los Angeles from Japan.

About 305,000 Japanese tourists typically visit the city each year. They provide a significant chunk of revenue for the city’s general fund in the form of hotel and sales taxes, according to Rexford Olliff, a revenue projection analyst in the CAO’s finance department.

“Even though we’re in a rising economy and looking for the sales tax to grow next year, we’re just going to get less growth,” Olliff said. “There’s just no way you can take that kind of travel out and say, ‘Well we’re big so it won’t matter.’”

Councilwoman Janice Hahn asked the CAO to report back to the committee with regular updates on the hotel occupancy tax and how it might affect the city’s general fund.

Sidhu also reminded the committee members that foreign direct investment from Japan is an important part of the local economy and will decline as a result of the earthquake and tsunami that hit the country in early March.

Los Angeles-area businesses owned and operated by Japanese companies account for about $2.6 billion in income for nearly 50,000 workers, Sidhu said.

Small businesses are calling it an important victory, now that the U.S. Senate has followed the House and voted Tuesday to repeal the “onerous IRS Form 1099 reporting requirement.”

Passed last year as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the requirement would have required small businesses to file Form 1099 for every business-to-business transaction totaling over $600.

While the 1099 requirement was intended to capture lost tax revenue, small business said complying would be ‘burdensome” because not only would they have to report on their own income, they would also be required to report on that of their vendors, according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), which backed the repeal.

The law, according to the NFIB, was immediately “criticized by lawmakers from both parties in both chambers of Congress and the White House as being an over-burdensome paperwork mandate placed on small businesses.”

“Small businesses have been struggling to come up with a way to account for this burdensome tax reporting mandate, and it has been the top priority of NFIB to see it repealed,” said John Kabateck, NFIB/California Executive Director. “NFIB and its members are glad to finally see this ill-conceived rule removed from the books by Congress.”

The Senate’s repeal bill mirrors legislation passed in the House of Representatives on March 3 to repeal the 1099 tax-reporting rule, H.R. 4. Congressman Dan Lungren was instrumental in the bill’s passage last month.

“NFIB thanks Congressman Lungren for bringing this repeal first to the House floor for a vote,” added Kabateck. “No other rule or regulation has been as widely unpopular as the 1099 mandate, and it was past time to see it go.”